“Ozzy: No Escape from Now” – released on Paramount+ on October 6th (along with some special fan screenings) – was not thought to have been a post-mortem special documentary looking back at the final years of Ozzy Osbourne’s life. But that turned out tragically after the Rock Icon passed away in July, when the film was still being edited.
Britt Director Tania Alexander was trying to make a film that explored the aftermath of Ozzy’s life-changing autumn in 2019, with the consent and involvement of Sharon Osborne (executively produced).
In the midst of pain, “No Escape From Now” is especially what will become his final studio album, Patient Number 9, so it can show off the comfort you can see in making music again.
When Ozzy passed away less than three weeks later, Alexander was still deep in editing the film. But as she explains, she continued with the full family demands, and with the exception of one last addition, she didn’t change the seconds.
How did this movie do your way?
Phil (Alexander, producer, former editor of Kerrang! Magazine) and I have a very long-standing relationship with Osbornes. We knew what happened to Ozzy, but we knew when he was doing “Patient Number 9.” I talked to Sharon. We wanted to tell him what had happened since that fall, but we knew that it had really affected him and his family. She said. One thing you know about the Osbornes is that they are really honest. There are no spins involved. Sharon gives you totally your freedom, but we always wanted to prefix it. This is what we want to do. And if there were red flags, she would have flagged them.
So, did she effectively provide you with access to all areas?
When you have a sick person like Ozzy, you need to make a little plan, meaning, “What is your intention?” And Sharon never blocked anything and really trusted him. We got in there knowing that there might be some ups and downs when it comes to being able to film because he’s going through manipulation or because he’s going through a bad patch. So we just had to be flexible. But she said: I just tell the truth. We’ve had such a terrible time and we want to reflect that.
As you say, you are truly ill and dealing with people who experience up and down. Have you ever felt like you were getting too intrusive or you couldn’t keep going?
There was a moment when you saw you in the opening he was sitting in his chair, and because he was constantly having a terrible back pain thanks to Parkinson’s disease. I’ve always known his cushion very much. So we were always asking him, do you want to stop? And he’s the kind of person who goes to sit down, how long does this take? And honestly, would he say he really enjoys chatting about himself and has more questions? You found it to be part of his day and almost something fun.
This document is based on Ozzy’s final farewell show in Birmingham and whether he can show up. However, this gig was not discussed when you started.
That’s crazy. When we started filming with him, he had to postpone the world tour. So when we were filming, it’s always, can he tour? Is he worthy of tour? And he’s going to play the Commonwealth Games, burn all the guns and come back and I’m going to tour. And the rug was pulled again. Up until that point, we were watching if he could return to the stage to tour. And it literally happened in that chat. He was telling Sharon, I feel like I’m not saying thank you and goodbye to you, and if I can’t tour, I need to do something. And she said what would be about doing this last show. We didn’t start with it being the end. Our pitch was a story about a fight between one man to return to the stage one last time. But that’s what it was. And the decision I saw. He had sepsis at the end of April, and I think it was 72 days before he was meant to be on stage. The decision was incredible.
I loved the scenes where other major lockers gathered. The warmth and love they had towards Ozzy was so sweet to see
There is genuine respect and love. Many of them look back at his childhood and how he changed his life. Billy Corgan was really upset. James Hetfield was really emotional. He means so many in so many different ways. It was an extraordinary moment for me to see Ozzy watching a really big artist singing his song in front of him. And they were really nervous, you felt it. But I thought they said some really good things and they all really meant that.
This was made as a living document. When Ozzy passed away, what stage were you at?
We were editing and it took another 6 weeks. I cut 90 minutes and did the final 30. After he passed away, a part of me was thinking. Looking back at the 90 minutes, you look different through the new lens. So I saw it but didn’t change it – I just thought it was the same movie I cut before. And it ends in the exact same way we always wanted – it is cut to black. We aside, we added a funeral service at the end at the request of our family.
There was a conversation about the documentary with a family member who was clearly in mourning at the time. Did you have any suggestions to not continue doing that?
They wanted us to continue. Sharon was always really behind it. She has always been really supportive. However, there was a request from the family that they added Cortage Montage at the end. So we did. But otherwise it didn’t change and ended in the place it originally intended to end.
And has the rest of the film changed completely?
He still made it on stage so there’s nothing at all. It was heartbreaking to watch the scenes between him and Sharon and talk about how he could hang the microphone. It was really hard to cut. Me and my editor sometimes cried a little.
